The present invention relates to a mop for dry or wet mopping comprising an elongated mop-holder and a shaft, which is connected to the mop-holder by means of a universal joint, which has a first pivot axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the mop-holder and in parallel with the plane of the mop-holder, and a second pivot axis perpendicular to said first pivot axis.
Mops of the type described above are in particular used for so-called dry mopping or wet mopping with a mop-holder, whose underside is coated with a dry or wet dust-absorbing paper or textile cloth, which the user of the mop sweeps over a floor surface to be cleaned in a swinging zigzag movement while walking backwards. In this connection, the floor surface which the cloth sweeps over is suitably increased by an inclining of the mop-holder towards the sweeping direction, more specifically so that the end of the mop-holder, which is for the time being at the front in the sweeping direction of the mop-holder, is at a greater distance from the user than the end which is then at the back in the sweeping direction. The inclination is achieved by the user somewhat turning the shaft of the mop at the end of each swinging movement by a slight motion of the wrist.
In spite of the fact that today""s mops are made of very light materials, such as aluminium or plastic, and that dry mopping is considerably less strenuous than wet mopping, it has been found that also the very limited motion of the mop user""s wrist during the sweeping movement can cause strain injuries in course of time.
In consideration of that stated above, the object of the present invention is to provide a mop, in which the above-described motion of the wrist is restricted to a minimum, and instead the desired inclination is achieved by means of a motion which is less strenuous for the human body.
With a mop of the type mentioned by way of introduction this object is achieved, by the shaft having a handle portion and a coupling portion, which connects the handle portion to the universal joint and which is so designed that the longitudinal axis of the handle portion is displaced in relation to the universal joint so as to intersect said plane beside the first pivot axis.
Thanks to this solution, a user of the inventive mop, when the mop is in such a position that the point of intersection is located between the universal joint and the user, only has to perform a simple pulling movement for the desired inclination to arise. The reason for this is that the mop-holder always strives to turn one of its long sides towards said point of intersection, which causes a varying degree of inclination depending on its distance from the universal joint.
Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the handle portion intersects said plane at a distance from the first pivot axis corresponding to half to twice, preferably once, the width of the mop-holder.
It is understood that said ratio entirely depends on the width of the used mop-holder, which can be e.g. between 80 and 100 mm for a normal mop-holder with a length of between 400 and 600 mm.
According to the invention, the mop is also preferably designed such that the coupling portion is substantially S-shaped, its two end portions are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle portion and its intermediate portion located between the end portions provides displacement of the handle portion in relation to the universal joint.
An intermediate portion designed in this manner is very easy to manufacture and most comfortable to use because of its smooth shape.
Suitably, the coupling portion is also replaceable to vary the degree of displacement of the handle portion in relation to the universal joint.
Such a replaceable coupling portion, in addition to the possibility of varying the inclination of the mop-holder by different degrees of displacement during the sweeping movement described above, also permits the application of the invention in connection with an ordinary mop by placing such a coupling portion between its shaft or handle portion and its mop-holder with the universal joint.
Finally, in order to further reduce the strain on the user""s wrists when mopping, at least part of the handle portion can be enclosed by a rotatable sleeve. Thanks to this sleeve, the wrist of the hand gripping the sleeve does not have to be twisted at all in order to follow the natural turning movement of the handle portion provided by the invention.